8 months

Today was Tatum's 8 month birthday! Time still seems to be flying by.  I wonder if that will ever change. I waited until way too late to take her picture today so it was really unsuccessful.  Her poor mood mixed with my lack of photography skills does not equal happy results.  Every now and again it will hit me just how bad I am at taking pictures and I'll think about how I should do some reading and practice so I get better, but then I forget again.  Vicious cycle I tell you.

Anywho, back to Tatum. :)  She's a cutie, I'll tell you that.  And she's a little stinker.  Here is what she is up to lately:

-CRAWLING! She's as mobile as a monkey and into everything these days.  It is so much fun but it certainly does change your life! Gone are the days of sitting her down and knowing she will stay.
-She can pull herself up to standing and it is one of her favorite things to do.
-Just recently she has learned to hold on and slowly lower herself rather than just sort of falling from standing to sitting.  This development makes for a much happier Tatum.
-When she is standing she will let go and balance on her own for a couple of seconds. It never lasts long.
-She is just starting to learn to give kisses. It is almost exclusively to me, and even then it is hit or miss so it is hard to know if it's just by accident or if she actually is learning.
-She has a clear favorite when it comes to books.  My mom gave her a Farm Animals book and it is the only book she gets excited for and will sit still for the whole thing.  And she will do it over and over and over again. And again.
-She still seems to hate to sleep, much to my chagrin. I can't even express how much I would love to sleep through the night. Just once.  Last night she woke up every 2 hours! What?!! It's like having a newborn all over again.
-She likes her bath, loves being outside and loves kids!
-She hates to get dressed or undressed (it is painful for all involved), hates laying down in the tub (or anywhere for that matter), and hates it when I shower when she is awake.
-Last week she started to "get" Skype.  We Skype with my sister a lot and occasionally my parents and my brother's kids.  She has always just done her own thing but last week she started to react when she would hear it ringing and now seems to understand that that is a person on the screen.  It is so cute! As soon as she hears it ringing she will crawl to the computer and wait for someone to say hi. 
-She insists on playing with my hair as she falls asleep.

And here is the oh-so-happy miss Tatum.

 Sad, but really kind of funny.

 The only genuine smile we got out of her.

 Reading her favorite book to get her to stop pulling a fit about having her picture taken.

 Little stinker. She was in a perfectly fine mood as long as she wasn't laying on the floor to get her picture taken.

Happy 8 month birthday Tatum!